The background of the invention will be set forth in two parts.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a safety collar and more particularly to a flexible collar incorporating a breakable safety member that automatically releases the collar from about an animal's neck.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Over the years, there has been considerable activity by those interested in the safety and well being of domestic animals in providing a tether that would allow an animal to be left unattended for a period of time while restricted by the tether, and which would include a release mechanism should, for any reason, the pull on the collar become great enough to cause injury to the animal.
In many of the schemes that have been developed, a plug or ball is held in a socket until a predetermined tension force is exerted on the release mechanism to cause the plug to leave the socket. In some cases, the plug includes a resilient member that compresses to escape from the socket, while in other cases the socket includes a resilient portion that expands under sufficient force to release the plug. In a few instances, the socket is provided with adjustment means whereby the mechanism will release when a force of a predetermined magnitude is applied thereto.
It has been found that many plug or ball-in-socket mechanisms are not reliable in that some release when they shouldn't and others do not release when they should. Also, it has been found that because of its simplicity and accessibility, the release mechanism is often used to attach a collar to and detach the collar from an animal instead of unbuckling or otherwise removing the collar. This tends to cause wear or a permanent set in the resilient portion of the release mechanism which degrades its reliability. On the other hand, the more complicated adjustable mechanisms are costly to manufacture.